Britishness and Euroscepticism

By Thomas Bignal
A survey
published by ComRes only a few weeks ago pointed that 54% of the
British public were willing to leave the EU, a number far higher than
their other European counterparts. How come the British people are so
adamantly opposed to the EU that they would rather leave the Union as a
whole, rather than play an important role from within?

Labour and Conservative MPs favor a reduced EU budget

Both two
main political parties in Britain seem to have a rather broad
spectrum of views regarding the EU. This was demonstrated by the
recent cross-party rebellion made by MPs from both Labour and
Conservative parties calling for David Cameron to reject a freeze and
negotiate a strongly reduced EU budget for the 2014-2020.

However, it
is clear to all that the Conservative Party includes a more
Eurosceptic strand. Although David Cameron and his cabinet are
generally against the idea of a withdrawal of Britain from the EU, an
increasingly high number of Conservative MPs –influenced by the
success of UKIP- believe this is the way forward and are calling for
a referendum on the matter. The outcome might well be the UK leaving the EU if one was to rely on the latest survey as
mentioned above.

The usual
criticisms are often heralded by British politicians and media alike
as a basis for their argumentation. These include its membership
costs for little return, lack of democratic legitimacy, bureaucratic
nature and so on. The problem is that this does not explain why these
critiques -rightly or wrongly- are more widely accepted by the
British public than throughout the rest of Europe.

Europe
framed as an attack on Britishness, a vicious circle

It could be
explained by the highly popular and emotional term of “Britishness”,
so important to British politics, yet seemingly impossible to define.
The decline of what was the British Empire led British politicians to
emphasise the importance of their links to the US and to the
Commonwealth and cast aside the significance of Europe. The
fact that they do not necessarily need to be in opposition does not
appear to have been taken into account. Yet many British politicians
and newspapers appear to have used populist means –reducing the EU
to an aggressor against British culture- in order to secure political
gain or sell more prints.

This sense
of aggression on “Britishness” by Brussels has also been
reproduced and strengthened by a majority of the hugely influential
British press –quality and tabloids alike- which is considered as
far more Eurosceptic than their counterparts throughout Europe. This
could explain why dangerous distortions can also often be found in
the British press such as the statement that Brussels is forcing
Britain to give up on its imperial measurements, a matter ever so
important to “Britishness” and consequently to its people.

As such,
the idea that the EU is harming what makes Britain so “British”
has now become so widely accepted among public opinion that it has
created a vicious circle encouraging British politicians and media
alike to use this sensitive topic to score political points or boost
profit, but consequently increase euroscepticism among British
people.

Withdrawal
from the EU would perhaps be mistaken but nevertheless understandable
if the British public were also informed of the positive effects
membership to the EU has or can have on the British economy. Yet,
when discussing this issue with many Brits who share different
political views, the main responses received are based on the idea
that Britain is culturally different to Europe rather than on the
economic and social benefits membership brings or not to British
society.

Positive side of EU membership often go unmentioned

Indeed,
arguments regarding the actual added value of membership to the EU
are never really mentioned by Eurosceptic politicians or the
right-wing press and tabloids. How Europe positively contributes to
the British response to modern cross-border challenges such as
globalisation, climate change and terrorism is very rarely promoted.
The same can be said about the importance of the single market or the
costs both Switzerland and Norway have to pay to be included in it.
The real impact of EU laws on British primary legislation
(6,8%) is usually ignored or ill-explained.

A
referendum could lead to the British people deciding that it is in
Britain’s best interest to leave the EU, but a debate could also
provide a voice for the pro-Europeans –a vast majority of Business
and Trade Unions included- to express their opinions; a matter which
is not often the case in the British Press. This could lead to a more
balanced debate where British interest will no longer be simply
reduced to the sentimental vision of Britishness, however important
British culture is, but also to a rational debate based on how to
create and protect British jobs in today’s globalised world. As
such, the willingness to leave the EU as a whole as argued by UKIP
and certain Conservatives, and not even try and negotiate from
within, could well be the biggest loser if a referendum were to take
place.